The Way I Loved You (Gaston)

[Guinevere]

When he pulled her back to kiss her again she felt a rush go through her, she wound her arms instinctively around his neck and moved her body flush against him. He felt so warm, so safe in these arms and there was a part of her that was shouting at her that she did not need a man to feel safe, but she did not care, he was here and she was happy. So very happy.

When he finally stopped she didn’t want him too and almost pulled him back in, but forced herself to stop, because there was no telling what she would do if they didn’t. It had been a while…and Tristian did not need to witness that. Then he was saying it, what she had wanted to here, what she realised that she had been waiting for someone to say for a very long time…

She smiled up at him and said, “we can…really?”

The smile widened even more and she said, “I love you too.”

Maybe…maybe everything would be ok between them…

However…in all her happiness she had forgotten to mention one tiny detail…a detail she had forgotten after being reunited with Gaston…that the man that had once also held her heart…still stood by her side…and had done so…for the last ten years…

For now though, there was only happiness, and him.

[Gaston]

"Really." He smiled down at her, running a hand across her hair as he took her in. "I don't need to marry you to know you're mine. I'll come back to the Summer Country with you, I'll lead your armies, I'll be you champion, and I'll love you as you deserve to be loved. I'll give you more children, I'll treat you the way you should be treated. Arthur doesn't matter - what matters is us. That we're together. I've waited ten years for you, Gwen, I'm not letting you go now."

He put an arm around her shoulders, holding her close, smiling as he finally felt, after all this time, that he was where he was meant to be, with the woman he was meant to be with.

"So, how has the queen coped without a champion for ten years then? Don't tell me Arthur the ponce was your champion?" He asked, scoffing at the thought.

[Guinevere]

It was everything she had been waiting to hear for such a long time. Someone who wanted her, someone who cared for her, who just wanted her, who would fight for her. Happiness surged through her and she moved in to kiss him again…

…but hesitated as he asked his question.

Her eyes which had been half closed as she went to kiss opened in a sudden panic.

Oh no.

She pulled away from him a little and looked up at him, looking in to his eyes, “Well…Arthur was my Champion for the first couple of years…it, was expected really…what with being my newlywed husband, it made it more…convincing. But…a Queen must have a Champion in my country…there…there can never not be one. Although I will add that the Champion does not always fill the function that I described earlier so just…just keep that in mind.”

She held on to his arms, worried that he might move away from her, worried that she would lose that warmth, that happiness that she had just found, “right now…the current Champion…well…that would be Sir Lancelot du Lac.”

[Gaston]

He felt her lean back in to kiss him again and he responded, leaning down and closing his eyes. He opened his eyes when the kiss didn't come, frowning slightly as he looked at her. Why was she pulling away? His hands were on her waist and he straightened up, looking down at her with an odd expression. He knew something he wasn't going to like was about to come hurtling his way, and he pulled away slightly as he braced himself for it.

His face darkened as she spoke - there was a lot of build up to whatever her revelation was going to be, and he knew full well that that meant she was attempting to cushion it, that it was going to be something that would make him hurt, or rage.

Lancelot. His hand still on her waist, he straightened his arms, pushing her away from him slightly but still holding on to her, a scowl darkening his features. Lancelot bloody Du Lac. Of everyone she could have chosen, he felt a rage beginning to burn inside him at the thought that it had been him. He really, really hated that guy.

"Well that's that then." He said calmly, reaching for his gun. "I'm going to kill him."

[Guinevere]

‘Here we go…’ she thought as he pushed her back a little, although she held out a little hope that he had remained holding on to her.

Then he came out with it. She forced herself not to roll her eyes at what he eventually said. It was something that she should have expected from him, Gaston had always jumped to the most extreme option, it was one of those things that she loved about him, but also one of those things that most frustrated her about him. He was a passionate man; she loved that, however sometimes those passions led him down paths that she did not want to see him go down.

“Please don’t,” she said trying to match his calm tone, “all he has done is stand by my side the past eight years and help me command my armies…that’s it…”

…apart from one or two times where they were both feeling lonely and sorry for themselves…but telling Gaston about that probably would not help the situation so she decided to keep quiet about those brief lapses. Not just because of the guilt, although that was a large part of it, but because she truly did not believe that in all this time he didn’t also find solace elsewhere. Ten years was a long time for a passionate man like Gaston. And yes, it made her jealous, and yes, she would always hate any other woman that he had kissed, but…she could understand…at least a little bit…

“Besides a Champion is chosen by official tournament, even if you bumped Lance off you would still need to go through that,” she said, trying to reason with him.

“Is Uncle Lance here?” said a cheerful voice from behind Gaston, “did he bring cake? Uncle Lance has the best cake, because it’s French.”

Gwen loved her son…but later, she was going to have to have a word with him about timing.

[Gaston]

"All he's done?" Gaston repeated incredulously. "That's all? Oh, well if all he's done is stand where I should have been standing then that's just fine, isn't it?" His voice was heavy with sarcasm. He knew he was being unreasonable, he knew he couldn't blame her - as she said, a queen had to have her champion, and Lance was there, he was the best. He hated it, but it was true.

Didn't mean he had to like the guy though.

He opened his mouth to point out how easy it would be to beat anyone in any tournament - he was Gaston of course - but he was interrupted by a little voice. His eyebrows raised, and he let go of Gwen. "Uncle Lance?" He asked with scorn in his voice. "Uncle Lance, of course he's Uncle Lance. Oh I hate him..." He turned to Tristian, putting a smile on his face with difficulty.

"I'm French too, I bet I have much better cakes than Lancelot. In fact, I can do everything better than Lancelot."

[Guinevere]

There was no point in arguing with him when got this way. She knew that if she just let him rant himself out she would eventually be able to get through to him. Although engaging in these kinds of arguments was something she had missed. It was fruitless and of course it only ever really seemed to end with the two of them even angrier at each other than before, but…in some strange sick way she had missed it…

“It’s just a name Gaston, it was easier to say he was Uncle Lance than-” she started to say.

But before she could get into it again he had turned back round to Tristian. She knew that situation was more serious than that, but she couldn’t help but smile at what he said to her son. She knew he must be hurting, but even in that hurt he still found the time to listen and speak with Tristian…even if it was just to put Lance down.

Tristian thought about Gaston’s statement for a moment and said, “can you?! That’s cool! Cause everyone says that Uncle Lance is the most bestest knight in all the land, so that must make you an even betterer knight!”

[Gaston]

He swallowed his irritation at Tristian’s comment; he was just a child after all, and didn’t know any better. But that was fine - he could learn, and Gaston wasn’t going to blame the kid for Lance being a complete tool and seriously overstepping his boundaries. No, that was entirely Lance’s fault, and Gaston would make sure he learnt his lesson on that front. He was almost starting to look forward to seeing Prance-a-lot again - he was definitely looking forward to punching him in the face. And the gut. Maybe a swift knee to the groin. Little bit of stabbing...

“I am the best knight in the world. In the history of the world, actually.” He said, puffing his chest out and making himself look as impressive as possible. “Your Mum can confirm that, right Gwen?” He glanced over at Gwen with a raised eyebrows before turning back to Tristian. “Everything I Do is better than Prance... erm... Lancelot.” He leaned forward slightly, as if he was telling Tristian a secret. “Lance is actually really rubbish at everything. Especially cakes.” He gave the kid a conspiratorial wink.

[Guinevere]

Gwen rolled her eyes at the exchange as Tristian looked up at Gaston in awe, marvelling at this new information he was receiving. He was still at an age where he believed everything that an adult told him…mostly…there were some things that he was starting to question. He had no reason to believe that an adult would lie to him because no adult ever had…as far as he was aware. So if Gaston said he was the best then it must be true…or at least…mostly true…He wasn’t sure about the cake thing because the cakes that Lance brought were pretty good, maybe Gaston just hadn’t eaten the right cake.

“Of course,” she said sweetly when Gaston asked her to confirm that he was the best knight in history, “I am sure you will be Captain…when you become a knight.”

She smiled at him warmly and winked, “I’ll gladly knight you once you pass the tests.”

“Are you a Captain?!” said Tristian excitedly, “will you be Sir Captain Gaston?”

[Gaston]

He grinned as Gwen confirmed his story - a grin which was quickly replaced by a look of disbelief at her next comment. He turned back to her, staring for a moment as Tristian asked his next question. He glanced down at the boy, responding quickly, "Erm, yeah, sure, that's right."

Turning back to Gwen, he raised his eyebrows at her. "Tests? What tests? I don't need to pass tests!" He looked at her defiantly, his expression one that probably wouldn't have looked out of place on Tristian's face. Gaston didn't need to prove his abilities - everyone should obviously already know how awesome he was. And if Gwen was Queen, surely she could just knight him there and then, especially since he was the love of her life and all that. And there was no one better than him - a thought suddenly occured to him and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Did Lance take tests?"

[Guinevere]

Gwen nodded slowly, “He did. All knights do. Whether in Camelot or the Summer Country. It is a position that is earned through proving ones skills in various ways, each King and Queen do it differently, my tests are very different from Arthur’s. I would say mine are harder but I am biased I suppose. The harder the test the greater the glory though, and every king and queen wants the most glorious knights.”

“You get to go on Quests,” said Tristian excitedly, “I want to go one quests but mummy says I’m not old enough yet. “

Gwen smiled down at Tristian and smoothed his hair; again he batted at her hand and spiked it up again. Looking back at Gaston she said, “If you wish for a test you need only ask…I will gladly give one.”

[Gaston]

Well, that was some consolation at least. Lancelot had had to take the tests too - and if Lancelot had taken them already, that meant Gaston had to opportunity to beat him in every aspect. Which was an idea he relished, more than a little bit. He was pretty certain Gwen wouldn't be particularly pleased if he killed Lancelot, as he really wanted to, but he supposed he could at least take some satisfaction in humiliating him as much as humanly possible.

He looked down at Tristian, unable to stop himself smiling a little at the kid's excitement. "Well, quests can be pretty dangerous." He said knowledgeably. "You're probably a bit small at the moment, but I bet once you're big enough you'll be even better than Lance on your quests." He glanced up at Gwen with a smirk. "Although I can't imagine that'd be too hard." He said, raising an eyebrow.

He studied her for a second when she spoke, considering her offer. He didn't really need to consider it at all - if he had to take some test to be close to her, to be her champion and her knight, then he was obviously going to take it. There was no question. But that didn't mean he was happy about it. He was still pretty certain that he didn't need to take a test to prove he was the best knight going, that he was Gwen's champion, and that he was better than Lance.

"Alright." He said seriously, his eyes on Gwen's. "I'll take your test."

[Guinevere]

Tristian nodded sagely and said, “You’re right Captain, I’ll wait a little longer. OH! If I wait a little longer than I will be the same age daddy was when he found the sword in the stone!”

He laughed excitedly and picking up a stick from the ground started swishing it about in a somewhat clumsy manner that was unmistakably an attempt at an impression of Arthur. Gwen laughed at him as he continued swinging it about, probably searching for a rock that he could put the stick in and recreate one of his fathers ‘finest moments’ or at least the moment that Tristian liked hearing about the best.

Gwen then turned her attention to Gaston and smiled warmly at him, before rearranging her expression to a more serious looking one, “Then Captain Gaston of France, am I given to understand that you are asking for Test of Mettle to become a Summer Country Knight?”

[Gaston]

Looking up at Gwen with a confused expression, Gaston mouthed 'the sword in the stone?' at her questioningly. That was something he was definitely going to need explaining at some point. Because, frankly, it sounded both wrong and ridiculous at the same time. Then again, he thought to himself, that wasn't anything unusual for Arthur.

He watched the boy as he played sword, a small smile on his lips as his eyebrow raised slightly in his classic expression. He was a cute kid, there was no denying it, and his smile threatened to falter as he once again felt that pang - the pang of sadness that he wasn't watching his own son, that his love was married to someone else. He pushed it away as he saw Gwen turn to him, and he turned to face her, his eyebrow raising higher at the serious expression on her face.

He wanted to roll his eyes at the formality of her question, take her in his arms and kiss that serious expression off her face, but he refrained, folding his arms across his chest and doing his best to mirror her seriousness. The corner of his mouth twitched as he responded, but he kept a straight face as he spoke. "I am, my Queen. I ask for a Test of Mettle to become a Summer Country Knight, and to show Prance-a-lot that he has some real competition at last." Alright, he let the smirk appear a little at that last bit.

[Guinevere]

She rolled her eyes and waved a hand dismissively in a way that would indicate she would tell him about it later. Honestly, she was regretting ever letting Arthur do the ‘bed time story’ slot again, the things he came up with.

Facing Gaston she smiled warmly at him, only raising an eyebrow at the last part of his statement, and said, “Then Captain Gaston of France I will bestow your test upon you. The test of mettle is to prove that you are worthy of being a knight of the summer country, that shows that you adhere to our ideals and are willing to uphold my laws and wishes. You have already proved to me your…physical prowess, for surely there are few in this land that would duel with the great Gaston. However, being a knight of the Summer Country is about more than strength of arm or skill in battle.”

Moving towards him slowly until there were only a small gap between them she said, “However…I also require my knights to act on my behalf in diplomatic matters, and in this, Captain LeGume, I challenge you. Your Test of Mettle is thus; you have a month to bring before me three women in Tintagel who are willing to speak of your chivalry and knightly conduct towards them, to have them speak of your virtue and to back your claim to knighthood. This is your test…do you accept?”